NixOS

Configure zsh, Oh my zsh, and install additional plugins in NixOS.

Rajdeep Singh

·

Follow

Published in

The Linux

·

3 min read

·

Feb 8, 2024

8

Listen

Share

Configure zsh and Oh my zsh in NixOS to enhance the developer terminal experience.

NixOS, by default, comes with a bash shell; check the default shell in NixOS with the following command.

$ echo $SHELL
/run/current-system/sw/bin/bash

You can configure zsh and Oh my zsh in NixOS. There are two ways to install and configure zsh and Oh my zsh in NixOS.

1. Using configuration.nix file
2. Using the NixOS Home Manager tool

Using configuration.nix file

The configuration.nix is the most common file to install and configure packages.

To install the zsh and oh my zsh in NixOS, copy and paste the following code into the configuration.nix file.

# configuration.nix

# for global user
users.defaultUserShell=pkgs.zsh; 

# For a specific user
users.users.<my-username>.shell = pkgs.zsh; 
# users.users.officialrajdeepsingh.shell = pkgs.zsh;

# enable zsh and oh my zsh
programs = {
   zsh = {
      enable = true;
      autosuggestions.enable = true;
      zsh-autoenv.enable = true…